CSI: NY Season 9 Review “Command + P”

This was another episode of “CSI: NY” where the main characters take center stage over the primary crime at hand, though this one was front-loaded with a seemingly unrelated subplot before said murder that cleverly turned out to be a main character’s story in disguise. Entitled “Command + P” for reasons that became clearer only later, it revolved around, well, a revolver. Only this was one gun with a neat back-story of its own.

Full disclosure: there was an episode of another show I watch that featured a similar plotline- I want to say it was either “The Closer” or its sister show, “Major Crimes”– so the revelation of the gun’s origins wasn’t quite as shocking or surprising as it was the first time around, but it’s still a neat idea. Basically, the killer at hand used a so-called “printable gun”- hence the title, which was short for the computer jargon “command, then print”- which was basically a gun that can literally be printed by a computer with the right equipment, resulting in a one-use gun that is completely untraceable and disintegrates upon a second use, which the murderer finds out the hard way.

The first victim was the gun’s creator, who, it turns out, pitched his primo idea to the wrong Andy. Instead of Andy Stein, who himself was a thief scamming ideas out of those who didn’t know any better, he talked to Andy Lewis, who was a cuckolded husband hot out of prison who discovered his wife was sleeping with her attorney who was securing her a divorce- which seems counter-intuitive, but maybe that’s just me.

Knowing a golden opportunity when he saw one, he clipped the creator with his own gun and off he went to take out said attorney, never realizing it was a one-and-you’re-done type deal. Though Andy succeeded in killing the so-called “50 Shades of sleaze-ball” attorney in question, he also nearly took himself out in the process, ending up at the hospital when the gun exploded as he fired it., which of course, resulted in his being caught when the gang realized his mistake and figured out that whoever used the gun would be highly injured in the process.

This led to a showdown at a garage-type locale, with Andy being taken down by Messer, who uttered one of the worst double-meaning quips this side of “Batman and Robin” I’ve ever heard. As a pile of tires crashed down with Andy on top, he fell to the ground in a heap and Messer said, and I quote: “Man, he looks tired, huh?’ Don’t quit your day job, dude.

The secondary subplot revolved around a so-called “guardian angel” that had been delivering million-dollar checks to needy people all over NYC, much to the dismay of everyone else- and to the delight of said recipients. Turns out the “angel” is none other than our own Dr. Sid, who made some serious cash, you’ll recall, a few episodes back- a fact that only Jo was privy to.

His rationale was two-fold: that the people, who were all those who had lost someone near and dear who ended up on Sid’s slab, deserved a second shot at happiness, especially since their lives had gone even worse as time had progressed. The other reason being that Sid was not long for this world, having been diagnosed with cancer, and wanted to do something good with his newfound fortune before he died, so as to better see (or hear, as the case might be) what his actions had accomplished.

You hate to see such a bittersweet thing, yet good on Sid for doing something nice for people who really did genuinely deserve it. (And a hearty hiss for the politician who took advantage of Sid’s desire for anonymity by taking credit for Sid’s action in lieu of his doing it himself.) This was a nice addition to the ongoing character-focused season, made especially welcome by the fact that we the viewers didn’t realize it even was one until the end of the show. Well played, “CSI: NY”– well played, indeed.

What did you think of “Command + P”? Did you find the idea of a printable gun both nifty and more than a little terrifying? What did you think of Sid’s revelations? Will you be sad to see him go? Let me know in the comments!

About The Author

Mark Trammell is the former resident entertainment critic at UAB, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and recently achieved a Master's in Creative Writing. His impossible dream was that "Twin Peaks" will one day be resurrected and pick up where it left off. Little did he know that was actually going to happen. He's now currently waiting to see if pigs will fly as well. Until then, he bides his time writing entertainment reviews and watching entirely too many movies and television shows.

The show that had the similar plot was csi Vegas about 3 episodes ago !! Talk about lack if ideas

Mark Trammell

OMG, was that it? I thought for sure the show wouldn’t rip off it’s own franchise, but I guess it sure enough did! That’s too bad. I liked the idea a lot the first time around, though I certainly hope it doesn’t become a real thing!

cbs1234

The best part of this episode was its focus on Sid… finally. He is one of the most underrated characters on the show, and it is about time that he got a little of the spotlight. That being said, if at this late date in the series, the writers decide to kill him off, and leave the viewers with the likes of dismal Christine and Lovato… then they should have cancelled the series as of last season. Also would like to know how the writers can go from the last episode of season 8, where Flack is still saying how much he misses Angell, to now acting like she never existed. The writers need to have some continuity, and the best thing they can do for the remainder of the season and series, is focus on the long time characters and ditch the new fifth and sixth wheels. And they better not kill off Sid!

Mark Trammell

Agreed. I would be mighty po’d if they killed Sid off- he’s one of my faves as well. Christine is a wet blanket for the most part, but I don’t mind Lovato as much, although she is basically a Latina version of the departed Emmanuelle Vaugier (Angell), down to her looks and everything. It’s almost a “Vertigo” type thing, if you think about it. Maybe they’ll work that into the plotline! (At least it would be more interesting if they did.) The ping-pong thing was dopey, though. I mean, really? Ping Pong? Um, no.